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Post by daylilydude on May 11, 2017 13:00:23 GMT -5
Can you put a number on yield, or would you only figure the yield in the total weight of the fruit that is being harvested from one plant?
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Post by Laura_in_FL on May 12, 2017 14:27:49 GMT -5
I think of yield in terms of weight. It would take dozens of small cherry or currant tomatoes to add up to the weight of just one big beefsteak. A couple dozen tomatoes over the course of the season would be a pretty pitiful yield for a cherry tomato plant, but a couple dozen big tomatoes on a big beefsteak plant would make me happy indeed!
Putting a number or a weight on it is sort of a YMMV (your mileage may vary) situation because of the different conditions in different gardens.
My plants are constrained by being two per EB, plus I have two shorter tomato seasons rather than one long one. If I get 18+ lbs from one plant I'm ecstatic. 10-15 lbs makes me happy, and about 7-9 lbs is average if I haven't had any major problems. If I get 5 pounds or less from a plant that didn't have any major problems, I usually won't grow it again unless it has really exceptional flavor.
I could get more fruit per plant by only planting one plant per Earthbox, but probably not that much more, since my fruit-set window is constrained by heat in the spring, and my fruit-ripening window is constrained by frost in the fall. (I have tried one plant per box on a few occasions, but I didn't see any benefit, except for one time when I planted a grafted plant. That plant was impressive indeed!) So planting two plants per box seems to get me more yield per box, plus I can grow a bigger number of varieties each season.
But folks with good soil and favorable climates who can grow huge in-ground plants probably see yields per plant that are at least twice as high as mine.
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Post by paulf on May 12, 2017 14:42:57 GMT -5
My highly regimented mind forces me to count and weigh every tomato with the exception of cherries and salad sized. Since so many varieties have different sizes the count is more important but the total weight also factors in. If seeds are needed to replenish stock, at least five fruits are necessary. If they are just for eating, it doesn't really matter. The more the better but less than five makes the year for that tomato a bust. If low production is the same over two or three tries, that variety is meant to be grown somewhere else.
All mine are grown in-ground and if a variety does not do well there is no sense wasting time and space since there are so many more to try.
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poppopt
Junior Member
Posts: 89
Joined: May 2017
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Post by poppopt on May 27, 2017 15:26:30 GMT -5
Although probably beyond where this thread was going, something I've wanted to experiment with is grafting some of the lesser productive varieties such as Cherokee Purple and Brandwine onto more hearty rootstocks to see whether I could increase production. Not having the space to experiment with it, I don't know how far something like that could go. I've read a few articles online but information is limited.
Someday...
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Post by Laura_in_FL on May 28, 2017 12:11:31 GMT -5
I have done just a little grafting, and it did seem to increase yield.
But the plants also are bigger, and need more space.*** I typically grow two tomato plants per Earthbox, but the big grafted monster plants need a box all to themselves. I'm not sure that grafted plants would consistently yield enough extra tomatoes to make up for halving the number of plants that I can grow. More to the point, I usually only grow one plant of each variety, so I could only grow half as many varieties. That's a no-go for me.
Bear in mind when grafting that the post-graft healing process will set back your seedlings by a couple of weeks. So you may need to adjust your seed starting date.
Rootstock seeds are expensive, can have lower germination rates, and sometimes they are just slow to germinate. In my limited experience, rootstock germination is just plain erratic! This complicates matters because you need to have your rootstock and scion stem diameters match up.
If you're grafting readily-available heirlooms like Cherokee Purple and Brandywine, you might want to make some staggered sowings of the heirlooms. Sow some a few days before, some along with, and (if needed) some several days after you sow the rootstock. That way you can be confident of getting the stem diameters to match up. If you're going to graft with expensive/rare heirlooms, I guess just sow your heirloom seeds at the same time as the rootstock and hope the stem diameters work out. To some extent you can adjust things by grafting higher or lower on the rootstock.
Ideally you want to graft below the rootstock's cotyledons so there are no growth points for the rootstock. If you have to graft higher than the cotyledons, you'll need to keep an eye out all season and pinch out any rootstock growth whenever it appears.
***My fruit set window is short here due to high nighttime temperatures and humidity. I don't prune suckers because I need my plants to form as many blooms as possible early in the season. That's the only way I can get good yield. If you grow your plants pruned to one or a few stems, then you can disregard my "grafted plants need more space" comments. You might need taller stakes, though!
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poppopt
Junior Member
Posts: 89
Joined: May 2017
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Post by poppopt on May 28, 2017 13:20:48 GMT -5
Thanks, Laura! Sounds like you've been down this road, at least part of the way. I sincerely appreciate the input. I have read of a few experiments that suggest that grafting increases yields somewhat in field plots but is more pronounced in greenhouse settings. That is where I was thinking of trying out the grafting of heirloom varieties and yes, there would be a good bit of pruning involved with that. Initially, I'd kinda like to make a trial of both grafted and straight heirloom, both in the field and in a hoophouse with the hopes of learning some stuff along the way. So many thoughts, so little time. LOL!
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